There is always excitement when South African small businesses excel. Starting your own business is a big step, but when it starts to grow and gain traction the hard work certainly pays off. At PayFast we’re always rooting for South African businesses, big or small, so when they do well the high fives are flying high.
Mevrou & Co. entered the market with a big bang and much anticipation from South Africans who were following their progress. Based in Cape Town, this powerhouse of a brand has virtually exploded all over the country. What do they do? They create and sell white unisex T-shirts printed with quintessential South African phrases. Why do they do it? As Maybe Corpaci, one of the founders, explains it was due to “the will of creating a feel good product that celebrates South Africa’s togetherness as opposed to otherness.”
In a very short time, these simple T-shirts have been adopted and cherished by South Africans (and foreigners) all over the country.
Mevrou & Co. launched their online store towards the end of 2016, just in time for the festive season. Since then, products have flown off the figurative shelves. Why? Well, apart from having a brilliant marketing campaign on Instagram to get the public itching for a T-shirt, having an online store enabled them to access buyers from all over the country. Some T-shirts even made it to international buyers (especially South Africans living abroad and feeling a little nostalgic for their home roots).
Maybe Corpaci describes that “the best thing about running the business is creating a product that is actually desirable – we didn’t expect to have such a big market! Also running your own business gives you creative freedom.”
Mevrou & Co. uses the Shopify and uAfrica.com ecommerce platforms to make their online store a breeze to run. The simplicity of these platforms allows the founders Catherine Raphaely, Maybe Corpaci and Mary-Anne Grobler to focus on the other aspects of their business, like designing great products for their customers.
What’s more, they don’t need to break a sweat over processing their payments online. PayFast’s simple integration into Shopify makes it easy for South African merchants to accept payments online from anywhere in the world. It’s so easy in fact, that you can be signed up and ready to trade within 24 hours.
“Mevrou & Co.’s primary source of sales is its online store. We are almost ready to open our first boutique, but we will be still focusing on ecommerce retail first and foremost.” Maybe Corpaci, Co-Founder, Mevrou & Co.
This is the perfect example of great ecommerce tools coming together to provide solutions for small businesses and enabling them to grow and thrive in an online space. It’s probably safe to say that Mevrou & Co. is destined for good things. All that’s left to ask is, what’s your favourite Mevrou & Co. Tee?
Follow Mevrou & Co. on Instagram @mevrouandco
